It's a big deal for the 35-year-old, but his previous Test experience mean he's up for the job - even one as big as a Calcutta Cup clash at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. Following outings in last year's Rugby Championship and the Autumn Nations Series a few months later, Brousset still has one major tournament to add to his list of honours.
He came very close to officiating in the 2024 Championship, before an injury forced him to withdraw before the match between Ireland and Italy. He was eventually replaced by Luke Pearce.
Although this will be his first time at the helm of a Six Nations match, he already had a taste of it eight years ago with the U20s in an Italy-Scotland match, before moving on to the U20 World Championship. During the 2022 Championship, he was an assistant referee, a role he fulfilled seven times at the 2023 Rugby World Cup as well.
So 2025 is a big one. At the Allianz Stadium, in an historic match that has become an annual extravaganza of dramatic plays, Brousset will be joined by two compatriots for the occasion: Luc Ramos as an assistant (with Andrew Brace) and Tual Trainini on video.
‘I tell myself that if I've reached this level, it's because of my convictions and my personality," said Brousset a year ago, when he was in line to referee that first Championship match from which he was forced to withdraw. "Of course, there's no such thing as the perfect match. You can always evolve, always find things to change in the way you referee, in the way you manage the match. But I think the guiding principle should be the same, whether it's a Pro D2 match or an international match."
How the refereeing bug bit
At one point, Brousset was the youngest official in the Top 14, having quickly risen through the ranks to establish himself as a mainstay in French refereeing. As well as XVs, he worked on the World Rugby sevens circuit in the 2016-2017 season.
After a career in sports education in Rieumes in southwestern France, Brousset has since 2018 made refereeing his main career pursuit, even though it wasn't initially what he had in mind.
"I was a player until I was 20," he remarked a few years ago. "I had the opportunity to take the referee's exam by chance when I was talking to someone about refereeing. I thought it might be interesting at times to know the rules properly.
"That's how it all started when I was 17. I passed my first exam and then I played my first matches. Two years later I stopped playing to try my hand at refereeing. I was asked to make a choice so that I could go on to the highest level.
"When I made the decision to stop playing, it was my second senior season and I'd understood at what level I was going to stop as a player. I was in Fédérale 3 at Sporting-Club de Rieumes, occasionally in the first team. So I said to myself that if I wanted to aspire to a bit of top level football, why not give it a try. My initial goal was to be in the Fédérale 1 within five years. I started to immerse myself in refereeing and here I am, goal after goal."
Brousset recalled with fondness a childhood watching the Championship on television with his family "on those cold winter days", snuggled up in front of the fireplace. Soon he will be taking a step into a vivid new memory as the referee of one of world rugby's biggest fixtures.
"Great rugby matches marked by history, in magnificent stadiums, an atmosphere in each stadium that is unique, whether on the Scottish side, the Welsh side or even in France," he reflected. "All the matches are intense and you can see that it's a very tight competition from one year to the next. It's a privilege to be able to officiate at these kinds of matches in a unique tournament."
